FOI-12-22 

Date: 20 January 2022 

Summary: 

Request:   

I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information. Please may you provide me with:  

1. Total cost of employed counsellors (named in the job title presented to students - not practitioner or adviser roles).  This sum should include on costs such as pension etc.  
2. Cost spent by the institute on outsourced counselling provision (do not include web based self-help such as Togetherall or Silvercloud).  Also do not include services who are statutory provision which the institute does not pay for.  
3. The cost for mental health advisors, well-being advisors and mental health advisors (do not include those funded by DSA).  
4. Total number of students for academic year 2021/22.  Please break this down into Undergraduate and Postgraduate.  
5. Basic undergraduate fee for a UK (Home) student.  
6. Fee for an overseas/international student - if this is variable then include the range from-to.  
7. Postgraduate fees - Masters level and PhD. level.  Include in this the charge for overseas and home students.  
8. Total cost of staffing in your institute's marketing dept.  This includes social media staff, alongside management etc.  
9. Total cost of outsourced marketing contracts - such as marketing agencies, press agencies and social/digital media contracts.  
10. Total number of students referred to outside mental health services such as IAPT.  
11. The percentage and number of students directed or referred into IAPT services (where present).  
12. The percentage and number of students directed or referred into third sector services (such as Mind or local charities).  

Please can responses to all questions cover the last four academic years including and up to 31st December 2021.  

Response:  

In accordance with Section 1(1)(a) of the FOIA, I can confirm that the University does not hold the requested information in full as some of the information pertaining to the scope of your request does not exist.    

Information pertaining to questions 1 and 2 does not exist as the University does not directly employ Counsellors, and instead employs Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners.   

Information pertaining to question 9 does not exist as the University does not outsource Marketing services.   

Information pertaining to questions 10, 11 and 12 does not exist as the University does not hold data on students being referred to third parties for mental health services.   

This decision has been made after all reasonable steps have been taken to locate the requested information. Whilst I acknowledge that it is the principle object of the FOIA to provide public access to documents, I am satisfied that the requested information does not exist.  

Section 17 of the FOIA provides that:    

17. Refusal of Request   

17. —(1) A public authority which, in relation to any request for information, is to any extent relying on a claim that any provision of Part II relating to the duty to confirm or deny is relevant to the request or on a claim that information is exempt information must, within the time for complying with section 1(1), give the applicant a notice which— 

1. states that fact,  
2. specifies the exemption in question, and  
3. states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.    

22. Information intended for future publication.  

(1) Information is exempt information if—   

(a) The information is held by the public authority with a view to its publication, by the authority or any other person, at some future date (whether determined or not), (b) The information was already held with a view to such publication at the time when the request for information was made, and  

(c) It is reasonable in all the circumstances that the information should be withheld from disclosure until the date referred to in paragraph (a).  

(2) The duty to confirm or deny does not arise if, or to the extent that, compliance with section 1(1)(a) would involve the disclosure of any information (whether or not already recorded) which falls within subsection (1).   

Given that the information will be available in the public domain, it is entirely reasonable and appropriate to withhold disclosure of the requested information pertaining to question 4, the total number of students for the academic year 2021/22, in accordance with Section 22 of the FOIA. The requested information will be found on the HESA website, https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/whos-in-he  

Question 3  

Questions 5, 6 and 7  

Question 8   

£409,813.00